a 100 year

[withonor]

I have ginormously high cholesterol so exercise and dieting right are something that I need to watch out for too. It's difficult when you start but once you start seeing results you're going to want to keep doing it.

I would also recommend do something you really love in terms of exercise--because if you hate it, it's just going to be that much harder. Running takes a heck of a lot of discipline and I can't even imagine doing it because I'm about as big a sofa spud as you can get. But with aikido, I'll trudge through rain and snow just to get to a class because I LOVE it. If you love water, or your kids love water (if you have any) or another friend of your's loves water, go swimming at your local YMCA twice or three times a week, do a few laps at the beginning and then play games like water tag or something, you'd be amazed at how you don't even realize you're burning calories until you see the results. When you're watching TV or on the computer, every ten minutes do a few leg and arm lifts, it's really helpful trying to inject some physical activity into everything you do. I find martial arts a good way to burn even though you don't realize it at the time, and aikido especially since you're not restricted by belt designations to what techniques you can practice and can't, and since you always have a partner to throw and throw you, you're going to enjoy it as a physical practice than some other ones.

Don't keep foods you know are harmful in your fridge, if you don't buy it, chances of you eating it when you're hungry are lower. If you're hankering for something sweet, go for a sorbet, or even better, freeze a banana/some grapes. If you drink clear soup (miso, chicken, vegetable) before you eat your meal, you'll eat less.

Learn to listen to your body, when you're full but not bloated and stop. The first couple times is kind of like, "I think I'm full, but I'm uncomfortable not being bloated..." because we like that feeling of being bloated but afterwards you'll find yourself uncomfortable BEING bloated and naturally eat less. If you're still hungry after, give yourself an hour or two and then eat a small meal again.

A lot of people eat out of boredom, which is a really bad habit and one that I found really hard to kick. But if I take up my time with things I have to do around the house, cleaning, mopping, washing dishes, buying things, fixing things, and just generally keeping busy, I don't even think about food until i slow down and it's meal time.

Drink. Lots. Of. Water.

Starving yourself isn't going to do anything, just make you miserable. But finding alternatives you can use is better. Cook with pam. Replace half your usual portion of pasta with frozen veggies/squash. Don't buy ready made food, cook it yourself (cooking will make you less hungry the longer you cook, I have no idea why, but it does.) Don't think about finishing everything on your plate, you can always save it for later.

I don't count so much as calories as I do what I'm eating. Ingesting an 80 calorie apple is different from ingesting 80 calories of butter, but even so, I have no idea how people can even reach a 2000 calorie daily diet. The things I cook, including 3 meals a day and snacks barely tops the 1000 mark but everyone's body has different needs.

Try looking up tips from the internet as well, but don't give in to those fast-solution or crash diet kinds of things, it rarely ever works and the repercussions aren't worth it.

Good luck!

Before I respond to anything here, check the bold. Water is so important. Not to mention that beverages are one of the biggest contributors to calorie intake and the worst contributor to nutrients. If you can cut out sodas (especially) and most juices, anything sugary, you will be off to a great start. One thing you'll notice is that you will eat more. That is a good thing, you'll want more food, so make sure it is nutrient dense. Fruits and vegetables are the best thing.

p3titexburial, I'm just expanding on the ideas you have presented, not attacking you.

Cholesterol...Sounds like a bad word, right? There are good cholesterols and bad ones. LDL's, low density lipoprotein, are the bad cholesterols. They transfer cholesterol to your body for storage. HDL's (high density lipoprotein) transfer cholesterol from storages in your body to your liver for processing to get rid of. Saturated and trans fats will increase your LDL (bad cholesterol) and decrease your HDL (good cholesterol). Polyunsaturated fats, monounsaturated fats and exercise can increase your HDL, thereby lowering your cholesterol.

Exercises that you find fun are going to be a lot more effective than ones that feel like work. If you don't like running there might be something that you enjoy that could replace it.

p3titexburial, either you're eating more than you think you are or you're very tiny, because 1,000 calories isn't enough for almost anyone.

Calculate your EER

Set the activity level to sedentary if you want to know the minimum calories you should intake. Setting higher activity levels will tell you what you should eat to maintain your current weight.